No Such Thing As Normal People
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You should probably read "Normal People" before you read this. A lot of things will make more sense then.
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Chapter 1
Quatre felt like he really should have expected this. But on the other hand, he had been trying not to think of what his friend had been doing the day before.
Duo was just one big ball of energy when he showed up in the corner where they usually meet. The other boy was practically vibrating in happiness as they started walking.
There really was no point in asking how the date went but Quatre did it anyway.
The grin that spread over Duo's face kind of said it all. "Great! Wufei took us to this really nice restaurant that kind of looked like one of those Italian restaurants that you see on TV with like pictures of the Coliseum and Venice and- and man you should have seen what he was wearing, it was kind of hard to keep my hands to myself if you know what I mean. He had this really nice coat that went down to his feet and a -"
Quatre barely listened as Duo went on the describe everything from what Wufei's hair had looked like in the light to what they had eaten.
"-and Wufei was just so nice and so sweet. At first it was kind of awkward because I didn't know what to say and I couldn't think of anything fitting because everything would just be -bluh! You know? And I didn't want to sound like an idiot. So I said something about the bread on the table or whatever and just felt like the biggest loser alive."
Quatre tried to get a word in but it was no use.
"And then we started talking and, god, he's so nice and smart and oh! There was kissing! It was great!" Duo did a small skip that no one over the age of ten should be allowed to do. "It was really great but then that guy, you know that big rocker guy with the leather jacket and the spikes showed u-"
"The psycho killer?" Quatre cut in. Oh man, this was not good. The only person that might even be worse than Chang and Duo was not only running in to him, he kept pissing him off.
Duo nodded enthusiastically, never losing his smile. "Yeah him, and he was totally going to kick my ass but Wufei was like 'go away you bug, you're bothering me' that kind of thing and the guy left and Wufei was like totally cool and then-"
Quatre decided for his own sake of health to tune Duo out as much as he could. It really was too early in the morning for this.
Quatre still could not believe that his friend actually wanted to date, and had gone on a date with the scariest bastard in school. He just hopped that Duo wasn't going to let himself be pushed into something he didn't want to do. He would never forgive himself if Duo turned into a druggy.
Quatre wondered in horror if Chang was going to make Duo dress like him too. He really hoped not. Because the thought of Duo in a dress was just too terrifying to consider.
"-we were going to my place you know and god, my room was just a total mess with boxes and clothes all over and thank god Solo was asleep because he would totally have been a pain. So we're like in my room and he wanted to see a picture of my hair before I cut it and next thing I know we're on the bed and he's on top of me."
Quatre stared in horror at his friend. He really did not like where this was going and he really didn't want to hear about it. "Maybe you should change the subject, we're almost there. Unless you want everyone to find out."
Duo crinkled cringed, a hand rising to pull at the hair in the back of his neck. "I might, kind of, have outed myself already."
Quatre stopped. "How do you 'kind of' out yourself?"
Duo awkwardly tugged his hair. "We were at the movies and we were holding hands and damn, he has really nice hands. They're really soft and his nails are all like shaped and painted nice with-"
"Duo focus." Quatre cut in. "How did you out yourself?"
"Oh, ehm, Heero's not girlfriend was there and saw us holding hands."
Quatre groaned. "Shit, that's not good. You might have to be ready for the whole school to know about it.
Duo's happy mood dimmed. "Yeah, I just hope it's not going to be too bad."
They walked in silence the rest of the way.
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Wufei's friends all stared at him in shock. "Are you serious?" Trowa asked slowly.
Wufei rolled his eyes. "Come on, it's not that big of a deal."
"Not a big deal?" Tiddy cut in. "Just last week we were talking about how we were going to get back at him for all the shit he put you through! You hate the guy, he's a bully!"
"He's not." Wufei protested, a silly smile breaking out on his face.. "He's really sweet."
Tiddy stared at him in wide eyed horror. "You can't be serious."
"I am."
"Jesus fuck Wufei, you're so fucking stupid that I don't know if I should feel sorry for you or beat you up."
Wufei rolled his eyes. "Oh please, like you could take me."
Tiddy sneered. "Watch it bitch, I just might."
Trowa slowly cleared his throat. "So the two of you are dating now. Is he out?"
Wufei grimaced. "Maybe, but not voluntarily. I'm going to have a word with someone first." He took a look down the corridor, hoping to catch a glimpse of something pink. "But so far he's in the closet."
"Are you sure you know what you are doing?" Trowa asked softly, walking over to lean sideways against the locker next to him. "I remember all too well a dress incident and the aftermath that followed."
"He didn't do it on purpose." Wufei protested.
Trowa gave him a long searching look. "Or so he claims."
"He didn't."
"Am I the only one who sees an association with abused girlfriends? 'No, he didn't mean to hit me, he just got angry." Tiddy drawled in a high feminine voice.
Wufei glared. "He's not hitting me so shut the fuck up."
"Yet." The girl muttered under her breath as she bent down to pick up her fluffy Hello Kitty backpack. "Leaving." She announced as she spun on her heel and marched off.
"Drama queen!" Wufei called out after her with a smirk.
He was given the finger before she turned the corner and was gone. Wufei sighed. She was totally going to be a pain until she got used to Duo and she would, he just knew it.
"You are going to be careful, right?" Jason asked quietly, crossing his leather and metal covered arms over his chest.
Wufei couldn't help but sigh. "I will."
"And if something, by some strange chance happens then you'll let me know right?"
"God, why is everyone acting like I'm going to be jumped by a mob?" Wufei exclaimed unhappily.
"Perhaps because you have an ability to attract them." Trowa muttered as he adjusted the books on his arm. "Come on, we should go."
Wufei grunted and turned towards his locker, a bit miffed that no one was happy for him. Oh well, Hilde would be… if she showed up. It sucked when your cavalry was a notorious skipper.
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Duo had been trying to steel himself for strange looks and whispers as he stepped into the school but it appeared to have been unnecessary.
No one gave him any special attention and by the half hearted grunts of greetings he got from his friends, they had not heard any rumors about handholding.
"God, I can't believe that we have to sit through Johnson's class first thing in the morning, I swear I'll be comatose before the guy even opens his mouth." Simon complained as he leaned back against the locker next to Duo's.
"Mmm." Duo mumbled to show that he was listening, even when his attention was further down the corridor, trying to find his crush.
Duo had hoped that he would have time to find Wufei to say good morning before their first class but apparently, that was not to be as he followed his friends into the classroom.
His first class was history and Duo had to fight hard to focus on the book in front of him. It was just so easy to let your eyes go blank and drift away with a silly smile on your lips.
He fantasized about meeting up with Wufei. He imagined what they would say, what they would do and the way Wufei would look. That he didn't accomplish much during class was an understatement and when he left the classroom he had no idea what the lesson had even been about.
Every chance he got he was glancing up and down the corridor, wishing that he was going to catch a sight of that dark shape. Instead it was another familiar shape that he saw strolling past the end of the corridor.
"Later guys." He called out over his shoulder as he hurried after the blue haired girl.
"Hilde!" He caught up to her over by the bottom of the stairs where she had stopped to wait for him. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to have seen Wufei?"
Hilde pouted, leaning back against the railing. "Of course the guy chasing after me has to be looking for his boyfriend."
Duo ducked his head, glancing around to make sure that no one had overheard her. "Um, yeah. Have you seen him?"
"Nah, I just got here but-" She cut herself off as they both took a step to the side to let a group of people get past them. "Have you tried calling him?"
Duo pulled the hair in the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I- um don't have a cell phone right now."
"Oh, well I can call him." She fished out a pink phone with far too many colorful charms attached to it. Pushing a couple of numbers she lifted it to her ear. For a few seconds both of them waited, one with a lot more anticipation than the other.
She glanced up at him, shaking her head. "Hey, Hilde here, I found your puppy, he's looking for you. Give me a call." She hung up. "It's off so he must still be in class." She said, putting the phone back in her pocket. "The school isn't that big so you should run into him sooner or later.
Disappointed, Duo went back to his friends.
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Wufei leaned back against the wall with an annoyed grunt. What was the point of having a boyfriend if you couldn't even find him? It wasn't fair. He had just gotten him and now he couldn't enjoy him. He was a bit pissed at himself that he hadn't thought of asking for Duo's phone number before leaving. Admittedly he had been a bit distracted by the kissing, the feeling of that firm body underneath him and the love letters. The love letters. Wufei found himself smiling stupidly just by thinking about them
There had been twenty two of them. Some had barely gotten past 'hi' while others had gone into length describing how beautiful, sexy and brave he was. How Duo had watched him every chance he got, how much he had wanted to talk to him, to touch him. Wufei had especially liked the one that had been almost guiltily crossed out several times. From what he had been able to read it mostly contained sexual fantasies and promises. A thrilling shiver of want rushed through him. God damn it! Where was Duo, he wanted to see him! Now!
He had seen that blond friend of his at a distance but he sure as hell didn't feel like walking over there considering the company he had. He might as well have held up a sign with the words 'please beat me up' if he had.
"Hey."
Wufei glanced over at Hilde as she leaned back next to him. "Hey. So you decided to show up today did you?"
"Mhm, I met Duo. He was looking for you."
Wufei perked up. "Really?"
"Yeah, but that was a while ago so he's probably moved on."
His shoulders dropped as he leaned back again. "Oh." Just his luck. "Do you have his number?" Wufei asked hopefully.
Hilde shook her head. "Not that it would do any good, he doesn't have a phone."
Wufei grunted in annoyance, thumping his head back against the light yellow wall. "Who the hell doesn't have a phone?"
"Duo apparently."
"This is not fair." Wufei grumbled. "I haven't seen him in forever." Or since the day before but details like that didn't matter.
"Sucks to be you. But this place isn't really the best place to meet him anyway."
Wufei snorted. "Don't I know it."
"You can always invite him over to my house on Movie night."
"Yeah, that would probably be a good idea. Then everyone can get to know him without having his idiot friends hanging over his shoulder." Wufei really didn't like Duo's so called friends. It would be so much better if Duo became friends with his gang instead.
"Hey losers." Tiddy greeted them as she walked over and leaned back on his other side. "Saw your creep of a boyfriend."
Wufei didn't bother saying anything about the name calling, it wouldn't do any good. "Has everyone seen him but me?"
"Apparently, he's hanging out with the shitheads over by chemistry."
For a second Wufei was very tempted to go over there, but decided against it. They wouldn't be able to talk freely and his asshole friends were going to give him hell. Not to mention that if Duo wanted to stay in the closet then he probably should stay away from him during school. Wufei sighed sadly and tipped his head down on Tiddy's shoulder. This sucked.
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Duo's classes dragged by torturously slow so when lunch came around it felt like he had spent days instead of hours in the building.
"Damn, that guy is insane. How the fuck does he think we are going to be able to finish all this shit in a week?" Simon muttered angrily under his breath as they walked out of the classroom.
Duo glanced over his shoulder to make sure the teacher in question wasn't in fact walking behind them before answering. "No clue, but I can think of a hell of a lot better things to spend my time on." Wufei being on top of that list.
Simon grunted, hurrying his pace as they entered the corridor with their lockers, ignoring how several people had to dive out of the way not to be run over. "He's a fucking sadistic bastard, that's the only explanation."
"I can agree with that." Quatre said as he joined them, eyes on the papers that the teacher had handed out. "This shit is going to take forever."
Duo didn't say anything; he just looked up and down the corridor, hoping to see Wufei. His shoulders dropped when he didn't and he turned to his locker. At least it was lunch time and considering the amount of times he had been staring at Wufei while he was eating there should be a big chance of running into him.
"You haven't seen Wufei, have you?" He asked Quatre in a low voice as they started walking towards the cafeteria, making sure that Simon had already left and couldn't hear them.
"No, but he should be around somewhere." Quatre sighed.
There were a lot of people in the cafeteria, but as far as Duo could see, none of them were Wufei. He almost didn't notice that the entire food line in front of him had moved until Quatre informed him that if he had planned on eating, he should take a break in his searching.
The rest of the guys were sitting further away and when they had gotten their food, Quatre steered his steps towards them. "So are you sitting with Chang or what?"
Duo faltered and looked around the cafeteria once again. "I don't know."
The blond came to a stop next to him, lowering his voice so they wouldn't be overheard. "Last chance to play it off as just a rumor... I'm just saying. Because if you go sit next to him, you might just as well tattoo 'fag' on your forehead."
Duo crinkled. "God, I hate this."
He looked around the cafeteria and all the people there. They were joking around, talking happily to each other and Duo tried to imagine all those faces turning towards him in distaste and disapproval. He shivered unhappily, unsure if he would be able to handle it.
Duo had almost talked himself into following Quatre when he saw a dark shadow in the corner of his eye. He turned his head and then he saw him.
Wufei breezed into the cafeteria like he owned it, coat billowing dramatically, closely followed by that bushy haired girl who was always wearing a corset.
He took a step towards him.
"I hope you won't regret it." He heard Quatre mumble behind him, but he was already walking.
The second Wufei say him and that beautiful face lit up, Duo knew that he had done the right thing.
"Hey Duo." The boy that was the star in all of his dreams lately said as he came closer.
"Hi." He replied happily, feeling slightly shy as he came to a stop in front of the gothic boy.
The bushy haired girl glared at him. "I can't believe this shit." She muttered as she shouldered her way past him towards the line.
Duo blinked in surprise as he took a tighter grip around his tray before turning an uncertain look towards Wufei. "Um."
Wufei waved it away. "Ignore her, she's just being pissy." He took a look around the room. "Grab a table would you, I'll get some food."
"Okay." Duo agreed happily.
After a bit of searching he sat down at one of the smaller tables close to a window. It wasn't private by a long shot but it was as close as a school cafeteria could come.
He waited restlessly for Wufei to return, feeling like time was doing everything to tease him. At least he could watch him where he was standing in line.
Wufei was wearing big baggy pants that dragged along the floor with numerous belts with silver studs hanging around his waist. A long sleeved, very tight black sweater were was an appreciated contrast that drew his attention to the studded leather neck cuff that was wrapped close around Wufei's throat. There were also several studded cuffs around his wrists and forearm. There were even studs on what he could see of the heavy boots that were peeking out under the edge of the pants. Duo wondered what it would feel like to hug Wufei when he was dressed like that. Would it feel like hugging a hedgehog, or would it just feel like a dull pressure next to warm flesh? And then he decided that he should stop thinking about it right away.
Wufei was having what looked like a very heated discussion with the bird nest girl who looked far from happy and when they had gotten their food, she turned on her heel and walked to sit down across the room.
Duo bit his lip unhappily. He didn't want to be the reason for tension between the two friends.
Wufei walked with confident steps over to him and sat down on the other side of the table.
Duo watched the other boy as he moved the belt out of the way so that he could sit comfortably. "Are you two… fighting?" He asked softly, glancing over towards the other side of the room.
"Nah, she's going to be a bitch about this for at least a week before she calms down." Wufei said with a shrug.
"Oh... anything I could do to help?" He asked, pushing the top of his rice pile down with his fork.
Wufei waved dismissively with his hand. "She'll be fine. But until then, expect one or two death glares directed your way."
Duo nodded, moving the pile around on his plate. He didn't know what to say so he settled for a natural question. "So… how was your day?"
"As good as you could expect. Most of it was just plain boring but I have a social study project that might be fun."
They spent a very enjoyable lunch together and their conversation was flowing easily. Everything was going well until a voice was heard over Duo's shoulder.
"Befriending the freaks are we Maxwell?" Simon cut in as he flopped down into the chair next to him.
"Simon." Duo growled in warning. He did not know how he was going to handle this whole 'coming out' thing but one thing was for sure, he was not going to stand by and let Wufei be insulted.
"I'll play nice with your little pet psycho." Simon turned to Wufei. "Hey freak boy, killed anything fun lately?"
"Unfortunately no, I couldn't find you Shit-for-brains." Wufei replied coldly.
Simon grinned. "Cute." He turned back to Duo. "When you're done playing with the misfits we have the court booked until five. Be there as soon as you can."
Duo nodded.
"Later." Simon got up to join a couple of guys from the team as they passed.
"What is up with Maxwell?" he heard one of them mutter.
Simon snorted. "Trying to infiltrate to get his hands on some vampire pussy most likely." He declared loudly, making people from the surrounding tables look over at Duo and Wufei.
The guys laughed mockingly as they walked away.
Duo smiled awkwardly with his shoulders hunched in embarrassment. "Sorry about that."
"He's an ass, nothing new there." Wufei shrugged calmly.
"But still."
"Don't worry about it." Wufei said with a twisted smile. "He doesn't matter."
"No, I guess not." Duo answered with a smile of his own. A smile that grew into a grin when a heavy leather boot tapped against his sneaker. He leaned his leg against Wufei's as he turned back to his plate.
There were other things that mattered more.
"Hilde wanted to invite you over on Saturday. We're just going to watch some movies and eat junk. Want to come?" Wufei asked hopefully.
Duo nodded. Want wasn't a word he would use but he would have agreed to a lot worse things for a chance to spend time with Wufei.
Wufei grinned. "Then I finally get to introduce you to Tim Burton."
Duo gave him and confused look. "Who?"
Wufei sighed. "The guy with the beret." He supposed that you just couldn't have everything.
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It was on the way to the second class after lunch that Wufei saw her standing outside a classroom, seemingly waiting for someone's lesson to be over. She was easy to recognize in her pink shirt, hair band and socks. "I need to talk to you." Wufei said harshly, staring intensively at the girl and making her squirm. She was obviously intimidated by him and Wufei was going to milk that for all he could. "Did you tell anyone?" He hissed, standing just a little bit too close.
She swallowed nervously, backing up against the wall. "Just a couple. They didn't believe me and told me to stop making up gossip."
"Good, make sure you follow that advice"
Her lips thinned unhappily. "Hey, it wasn't like you were hiding it or anything." She straightened her back, as if to stand up for herself.
Wufei didn't respond, he just stared at her in a way that promised pain if she disobeyed.
She rolled her eyes in faked nonchalance. "Whatever, we already agreed not to say anything. Sara's brother is gay and she wouldn't let us say anything." She flicked her hair over her shoulder. "Besides, Duo is a nice guy." The 'and you're not' was left hanging in the air.
Wufei nodded shortly. "Thank you." He turned on his heel and left.
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"Good game boys." The coach called out. "Try to keep a better eye on the hoop would you Maxwell, we can't afford that kind of slip.
"Sure coach." Duo replied. Day dreaming about your boyfriend in the middle of a game was a really bad idea. For several reasons.
The team stomped into the locker room, laughing, arguing and in general just being loud. Duo pulled his sweaty shirt over his head before he even reached his locker. They had been worked hard out there and he wanted to get into the shower as soon as possible. He smelled awful.
He sat down to un-lace his shoes, wrinkling his nose at the odor coming from them.
"So, are you coming to the party this weekend?" Simon asked as he sank down on the bench next to him, wiping his forehead with the bottom of his t-shirt.
Duo pushed his sweaty bangs to the side. "Man, another party? Didn't you have one like last week or something.?"
"Naw, two weeks ago. You have to take every chance you get when the folks are out of town. You know what I mean?"
Duo nodded absently as he threw both his shoes and his damp socks into his open locker. "Yeah, well I don't think I can make it. I've got plans."
Simon grunted and he got up and opened the locker behind him. "What could possibly be more important than a party."
'Meeting the prettiest boy alive.' Was on the tip of his tongue but he wasn't suicidal. Instead he just shrugged.
"Suit yourself, there is going to be a ton of people there. Party of the year I tell you."
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Wufei hadn't been sure if it would be okay for him to wait around for Duo, but by the bright smile on Duo's face when he saw him that it had been a good decision.
"Hi." Duo said softly as he sat down next to him on the frost covered bench, brushing his fingers against the back of Wufei's hand.
Wufei smiled. "Hey, how was practice?"
Duo leaned back, looking out over the yard."Pretty good."
"No one said anything?"
"No."
Wufei nodded, making his spiked hair bob. "I talked to one of the girls, she told a couple of people who didn't believe her and then they decided not to tell anyone else. Something about one of them having a gay brother."
"Who did she tell?" Duo asked as he fished up a black band beanie out of his pocket and pushed it down over his head.
"Don't know, didn't think to ask." Damn, why hadn't he asked? It might not matter to him what dumbass found out but it sure as hell mattered for Duo. It could get really bad if the wrong person found out.
Duo nodded awkwardly, playing with a lock of hair in the back of his neck
"You regret it?" Wufei asked carefully, leaning forward with his hands gripping the seat of the bench. The frost melted against his skin and chilled his fingers.
Duo crossed his arms with a sigh. "Well no. I don't want to hide it but at the same time I just don't want to deal with everyone's attention and bullshit... Does that make sense?"
"Yeah." Wufei nodded. "How about we try to keep it as quiet as we can and if it gets out we'll deal with it then."
"You don't mind?" Duo asked quietly.
"No." Wufei had never had a boyfriend before, especially one who was more or less still in the closet. He didn't really know what was okay considering the circumstances. Slowly he reached out and took Duo's gloved hand in his, making sure that the grip was hidden behind his coat.
Duo grinned and squeezed his hand.
Together they sat and watched people stroll by.
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A/N
Well, it took me about two years but here it is. A big thank you to everyone who has been reviewing and nagging me to get my ass moving, you have meant extremely much to me. I honestly don't have the words to tell you how much I appreciate it.
Please, just take a second to tell me what you thought about my first leap into the sequal.
